The Black Keys

Saturday, April 5

Sorry, folks, but if you don't have your ticket to the Black Keys show yet, you're SOL, 'cause that old boy is officially sold out! So if you're not already committed to rocking out this time, you're gonna have to cool your heels and wait until the Keys come around again. Unlike bands that spend years playing dive bars before some lucky music reviewer finally tunes in and gets it, it didn't take long for this psychedelic blues duo to blow up into the rock and roll powerhouse they are today. Before they'd even released a record, Alive Records signed the pair based on the first demos they ever recorded together; the resulting album, The Big Come Up, received a four-star thumbs up from Rolling Stone. Maybe that's because, for two skinny, ex-lawnmowing hipsters from Akron, Ohio, Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach serve as mediums, invoking the 1950's Delta spirit and letting it speak through their willing, 21st-century bodies. The scratchy, distorted vocals, drum attacks and righteous guitar riffs become increasingly polished with each subsequent albumthe newest of which, Attack and Release, came out April 1stbut Auerbach and Carney never waver in their ability to manufacture music that will possess you like your granddaddy's ghost. With J. Reatard. Showbox SODO, 1700 First Ave. S., 382-7877. 8 p.m. All ages. Sold Out. SARA BRICKNER